Coronavirus: Don’t go to China, FG tells Nigerians

The Federal Government has issued travel advisory to Nigerians to suspend plans to visit China in view of raging case of Coronavirus in the Asian country.
Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, gave the directive in Abuja at the end of the Federal Executive Council meeting, presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday.
Ehanire told State House Correspondents that FEC approved a travel advisory for Nigerians, stating clearly that all travel plans to China be stopped in the meantime.
He said the advisory also directed all returnees to Nigeria from China to be quarantined outdoors within a period of two weeks before fully interacting with their families.
He explained the two weeks would be used to monitor possible symptoms on the returnees.
The minister added that the directive has also been expended to all airlines flying into Nigeria to report any passenger with signs of illness to airport authorities upon landing at any airport in the country.
Ehanire added that all disease control and monitoring agencies in the country had been alerted to be on the look out for any sings of the infection.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives, yesterday, directed the Federal Ministry of Health, the Nigeria Immigration Services, the Quarantine Services,  the Federal Airport Authoriity of Nigeria (FAAN) and other related agencies to immediately  set up screening centres at all points of entry into the country, with the aim detecting symptoms of   coronavirus on travellers from countries with cases of the virus.
The House also directed the Ministry of Health to collaborate with other relevant agencies to set up isolation centres in all entry points in the country and where necessary isolate anyone coming into the country suspected to have the virus.
The Green Chamber equally directed all health institutions in the country to be on alert for sign of the coronavirus, with aim of curbing it, in the “unlikely event” that the virus is transmitted into the country.
This followed the adoption of a motion by the deputy chief whip, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, at yesterday”s plenary.
Onyejeocha, in her lead debate, expressed worries that the coronavirus,  which was first recorded in China,  earlier in the year, has reportedly  spread to more than 15 Countries incuding Canada, United State, Australia and France.
The lawmaker noted that there were fears that the  transmission rate of the virus will increase as millions were expected to travel to China for busines and pleasure especially during the forthcoming Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations.
Besides, she expressed concern that Nigeria and Nigerians being major trading partner with “China which is the ground zero of this Coronavirus and also partner with other countries that have been affected by the virus “exposes the country to the risk of having the virus transmitted into the country.
“Several countries have taken measures to prevent the Spread of the Virus to their countries or within their counties. Such measures include Strict Lockdown of Cities, asking anyone who has returned from Wuhan, China in the last 14 days to self-isolate, to stay indoors and avoid contact with other people, issued travel warnings apgainst Visiting China”, Onyejeocha stated.
As part of proactive measure, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has closed Panda supermarket in the federal capital territory (FCT) as a precautionary measure to the outbreak of coronavirus.
The commission said the supermarket imported seafood and other animals from China illegally.
In a series of tweets on Wednesday, the commission said it also discovered that the store had expired products on its shelves.